Fiesta San Antonio 2020 is off

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) –  The Fiesta San Antonio Commission has called of this year’s 11 day event, which had been postponed until November.

Here’s the press release from the Feista Commission:

Citing its No. 1 priority is the health and safety of Fiesta guests and
volunteers, and in alignment with public health directives from the Governor, Bexar County, and City of San
Antonio, the Fiesta San Antonio Commission announced it has suspended planning for a November 2020
Fiesta and will turn its efforts toward Fiesta 2021, April 15-25.
“We are very grateful for the City’s partnership and guidance since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we
fully support our public health and elected officials’ decision to suspend Fiesta 2020,” said Baltazar Walter
Serna, Jr. Fiesta San Antonio Commission President. “The health and safety of Fiesta guests and volunteers is
the only priority in this decision. Since some 300 nonprofits and countless vendors depend on Fiesta for a big
part of their annual income, and the economic impact is significant for our city that has already been hit hard,
we owe it to the community to make the decision carefully, and with the City’s help, we did. Unfortunately, the
pandemic creates an inability to perform the hundreds of contracts that make Fiesta happen.”
Fiesta San Antonio brings an economic impact of more than $340 million to the San Antonio economy, and it
supports almost 3,500 full-time-equivalent jobs. Each Official Fiesta Event is organized by a different 501(c)
nonprofit, and many depend on Fiesta revenue to serve the community year-round. Fiesta 2020 was originally
scheduled for April 16-26, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was postponed to November 2020 in
hopes that the number of local cases might subside sufficiently to enable a fall Fiesta with added health
precautions.
“While we had hoped that postponing Fiesta 2020 from April to November would provide a safer environment,
we recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic is not likely to subside sufficiently to permit the thousands of Fiesta
attendees to celebrate safely,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “Not only is Fiesta South Texas’s greatest charitable
endeavor, as I’ve said many times, Fiesta IS San Antonio. My calendar is marked for April 15-25, 2021, when
we will celebrate the 130th anniversary of the first Fiesta, and I know San Antonians will be ready to make
Fiesta 2021 the best ever.”
Added Mr. Serna, “While each Official Fiesta Event is organized by a different 501(c) nonprofit, we are
encouraging those organizations to honor the tickets sold for April 2020 in April 2021. Please give those
nonprofits time to prepare to address ticket issues. We haven’t missed a Fiesta since World War II, so we have
strong resolve to make Fiesta 2021 a great success.”